1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a driver program for a photographic printer (hereinafter called a printer driver). More specifically, the present invention relates to a printer driver which enables a customer to configure a personal computer to recognize a variety of conditions related to a printer, such that the customer requests print output by providing an order file describing the content of photographic print and image data to be printed to a photographic service provider via a recording medium such as a Zip disc or via a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wide variety of application software, such as Adobe Photoshop, has been developed. Furthermore, scanners and digital cameras have been used to input photograph data into a personal computer to be processed by application software, such as the Adope Photoshop mentioned above, to enable generation of photograph postcards, calendars and stickers by outputting the photograph using a dye-sublimation printer or a inkjet printer. However, a photograph image output by an inexpensive printer such as the one used in a general home is obviously inferior to ordinary photographic print in terms of photograph quality (such as color or resolution).
Meanwhile, a conventional service has been made available for generating photograph postcards or the like having the same high quality as a photographic print printed by a high performance high resolution photographic printer. Such a service generally requires a film or photographic print to be physically delivered to a photographic service provider, where the desired processing (such as an area to be trimmed) is specified. Therefore, it has not been possible to process a photograph as freely as by using a personal computer.
Because of the recent progress in digitization in the field of photographic services, it is now possible to place an order for printing using photograph data stored on a recording medium that is physically delivered to the photographic service provider. For instance an MO disc, image data read from a film and may be recorded on a Zip disc, or a CD-R, that is delivered by the user to the photographic service provide in lieu of film. Likewise, when recording mediums are used, it may be possible to also provide ordering information as digital data to the photographic service provider, eliminating the need for a customer to physically deliver such information to the photographic service provider in the form of an order sheet.
When ordering using recording image data and ordering information in a recording medium that is delivered to a photographic service provider, it is possible to generate a high quality output based on digital image data processed by a customer on a personal computer using a high performance high resolution photographic printer installed in the photographic service provider.
However, the processed image data are different from image data read from a film and may not be printed as they are by a photographic printer. For example, upon ordering a postcard, there are roughly two ways of printing a postcard based on image data that has been processed and provided by a customer with a size larger than the postcard size. One method is to print after reducing the size of the image data so that the image represented by the image data fits in the postcard size. The other is to trim a portion of the image and print the area within the postcard size.
In this case, it is up to the customer to decide which of the methods is adopted. It is not preferable that an operator or the like in a laboratory decides it without input from the customer. Therefore, it is necessary to ask in advance the customer to confirm which of the methods is adopted.
In the case of image data recorded by a digital camera, regardless of whether or not the image data has been manipulated by the customer using a personal computer or the like, printing conditions for a photographic printer may not be met since the aspect ratios of the image data generated by the digital camera may not be the same as the aspect ratio of an ordinary photograph generated by a printing device. In this case, upon printing, it is also necessary to confirm a customer's intention in advance.